Today, we are delighted to share an exclusive Q&A with Marion Lloyd, the publisher of Marion Lloyd Books, an imprint of Scholastic UK. Marion is the original UK editor of Moira Young’s Blood Red Road — the new book coming to the U.S. on June 7th, and our current featured title. We simply ADORE Blood Red Road, so we’re excited to share Marion’s insider insights into this unique new voice in fiction.
What are the challenges of editing a book like BLOOD RED ROAD, that doesn’t use traditional grammar, etc?
It’s very important to make sure that the unique voice in which Saba tells her story is consistent throughout, so one of the first things I did was to make a definitive list of all the unconventional spellings and expressions the characters use – like ‘yer’ and ‘yuz’ and ‘aginst’, to name but three. However, Moira had honed her distinctive language to pretty near perfection already, so there wasn’t much to change.
What do you think makes BLOOD RED ROAD stand out from the other dystopian books out there?
Oh, so many things! The distinctively different style of the text (see above) on the page sets it apart from conventional novels immediately. The pace of the narrative makes it a really fast read, and Moira does not dwell on detailed explanations of the nature of her future world. One of the things I love best about it (and often don’t love in other dystopian books) is that Saba’s world is not grim and miserable because we present-day humans have finally turned our planet into a disaster zone because of our greed/villainy/neglect/etc. OK, the Wreckers were obviously evil, the dustlands are lawless and violent, and survival in this future life is tough, but there’s no sense of misery or guilt. It’s a place that is full of red-blooded excitement, and very sweet romance.
Despite the uniqueness of her situation, what do you think makes Saba a relatable character?
Her obsession. The way she tries so hard to deny her true feelings.
What was it about BLOOD RED ROAD that first caught your interest and got you excited about working on it?
I was hooked from the first page. I knew I wanted to publish it within ten minutes of starting to read it. It seemed to me to be one of the most original books I had read in very many years. There was not one moment in the story when my attention started to flag. I could feel my heart starting to beat faster as I read it – and that was partly due to the terrible fear that another publisher would get it instead of me!
Tell us a bit about the transformation BLOOD RED ROAD took throughout the editing process.
First of all we had to find a title. It was originally called SABA. We had a lot of editorial meetings and a lot of different ideas before we settled on BLOOD RED ROAD. Moira added little bits of detail that expanded the back history and lifestyle of the time at Silverlake. We made Jack a few years younger. We clarified the nature of chaal. We re-located the final battle with Pinch. None of these amounted to major changes.
Thanks to Marion for answering all our questions, and to Chrissy at S&S for organizing this interview!
Novel Novice 
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